Events Calendar

June 4, 2024 - 10:30am - 11:30am

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2024 Spring Session (March 5-May 28): Tuesdays, 10:30 am-11:30 am
2024 Summer Session (June 4-August 27): Tuesdays, 10:30 am-11:30 am

Tuesdays in the Garden, designed for children aged 1-3, provides a nurturing environment where children’s curiosity and wonder are extended through play and exploration, and children and their caregivers learn and discover side-by-side. Join art educators Claudia Orjuela and Denice Niebuhr for hands-on art making and all-senses-engaged exploration of the outdoor world at Lynden. We’ll consider different themes, each designed to connect Lynden’s environment with children’s interests. We will encourage experimentation and the manipulation of art and natural materials to tell stories, solve problems, and develop relationships.

Fee: $16/$12 members for one adult and one child.
Registration: Group size is limited; advance registration is required. Register online now. In the event of inclement weather, sessions move indoors.

To view a list of the session themes, click here.

June 5, 2024 - 2:00pm - 3:00pm

interview-series-upto-2022

FREE
This is a virtual event.
Watch live on our Facebook page.

Wednesday, March 6, 2024 - 2:00pm - 3:00pm: Yosan Yosief (Eritrea/Milwaukee, WI) in conversation with Lidya Gebrekidan (Eritrea/Milwaukee, WI)
Wednesday, June 5, 2024, - 2:00pm - 3:00pm: TBD
Wednesday, September 11, 2024, - 2:00pm - 3:00pm: TBD
Wednesday, December 4, 2024, - 2:00pm - 3:00pm: TBD

Stories As We Move: A HOME Interview Series is an ongoing project that launched in 2020 as part of Lynden's HOME virtual platform. The series pairs individuals who have faced forced displacement in its many forms in a conversational setting. Refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants interview those that have resettled to the United States, including friends and family that are based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as well as those that remain overseas. The series covers a range of backgrounds and narrative identities, professions, and interests; participants include artists, community members, advocates and leaders, healthcare workers, caseworkers, interpreters, and students and educators. These interviews are reflections of relationships and conversations that we continue to have long after resettlement; they explore issues that our refugee friends and family members continue to face as they remain in their country of origin or interim country.

As we approach World Refugee Day 2024, Lynden’s community engagement specialist Kim Khaira will begin screening interviews from the series on one Wednesday each quarter on our Facebook page.

June 9, 2024 - 10:00am - 11:30am

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Fee: $10/$5 members. Advance registration available but not required. Click here to register.

Join poet and Wisconsin Master Naturalist volunteer Chuck Stebelton on the second Sunday of each month to bird by eye and ear with a focus on the life histories of wild birds. We’ll watch for seasonal migrants and resident bird species and seek out the best bird habitats to identify as many species as we can. Please dress for the weather and plan to walk in varied terrain. Bring your binoculars and field guides if you have them; no previous birding experience required.

About Chuck Stebelton

Chuck Stebelton is author most recently of One Hundred Patterns & Three Heuristics (Green Gallery Press, 2023). His previous poetry collections include An Apostle Island (Oxeye Press, 2021), The Platformist (Cultural Society, 2012), and Circulation Flowers (Tougher Disguises, 2005). He currently serves as Project Manager at Woodland Pattern Book Center, a nonprofit literary arts organization in Milwaukee. As a Wisconsin Master Naturalist volunteer, he has led workshops and field trips for nonprofit organizations and conservancy groups including Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters; Milwaukee Public Library; Woodland Pattern Book Center; Friends of Lorine Niedecker; and Lynden Sculpture Garden. He recently completed an ARTservancy artist residency with River Revitalization Foundation and has held residencies at Lynden Sculpture Garden in 2011, 2014, and from 2018 to 2024.

June 11, 2024 - 10:30am - 11:30am

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2024 Spring Session (March 5-May 28): Tuesdays, 10:30 am-11:30 am
2024 Summer Session (June 4-August 27): Tuesdays, 10:30 am-11:30 am

Tuesdays in the Garden, designed for children aged 1-3, provides a nurturing environment where children’s curiosity and wonder are extended through play and exploration, and children and their caregivers learn and discover side-by-side. Join art educators Claudia Orjuela and Denice Niebuhr for hands-on art making and all-senses-engaged exploration of the outdoor world at Lynden. We’ll consider different themes, each designed to connect Lynden’s environment with children’s interests. We will encourage experimentation and the manipulation of art and natural materials to tell stories, solve problems, and develop relationships.

Fee: $16/$12 members for one adult and one child.
Registration: Group size is limited; advance registration is required. Register online now. In the event of inclement weather, sessions move indoors.

To view a list of the session themes, click here.

June 13, 2024 - 7:00pm - 8:00pm

January-April: No Friend but the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison by Behrouz Boochani.
May-August: Radiance of Tomorrow by Ismael Beah.

Fee: Free.
Registration: This discussion takes place via Zoom; advance registration required. Click here to register.

The Lynden/HOME Refugee Steering Committee book discussion group, moderated by Lynden’s Kim Khaira, is for those interested in firsthand accounts of displacement. We consider works of non-fiction and fiction, including autobiographical and semi-autobiographical works, by writers who have faced or are facing forced displacement as refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants. Where stories of persecution, historical trauma, and loss of livelihood are effortlessly conveyed by storytellers, journalists, and humanitarians who search out or stumble upon the lives of refugees, we seek out the words of those to whom these stories belong: the narrators who are the closest to their own stories, and the stories of their people, friends, family and, of course, refugees. Newcomers always welcome!

June 15, 2024 - 10:00am - 4:00pm

Photo: Molly Rosenblum/Sam LaStrapes/Kodah

Visitors must adhere to our visitor guidelines.

Bring your canine friends for an afternoon of romping in the garden.

June 18, 2024 - 10:30am - 11:30am

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2024 Spring Session (March 5-May 28): Tuesdays, 10:30 am-11:30 am
2024 Summer Session (June 4-August 27): Tuesdays, 10:30 am-11:30 am

Tuesdays in the Garden, designed for children aged 1-3, provides a nurturing environment where children’s curiosity and wonder are extended through play and exploration, and children and their caregivers learn and discover side-by-side. Join art educators Claudia Orjuela and Denice Niebuhr for hands-on art making and all-senses-engaged exploration of the outdoor world at Lynden. We’ll consider different themes, each designed to connect Lynden’s environment with children’s interests. We will encourage experimentation and the manipulation of art and natural materials to tell stories, solve problems, and develop relationships.

Fee: $16/$12 members for one adult and one child.
Registration: Group size is limited; advance registration is required. Register online now. In the event of inclement weather, sessions move indoors.

To view a list of the session themes, click here.

June 20, 2024 - 11:30am - 2:00pm

HOME2023

FREE
Milwaukee City Hall, 200 East Wells Street, Milwaukee, WI 53202

World Refugee Day is an international day designated by the United Nations to honor refugees around the globe. It falls each year on June 20 and celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution.

This June 20, join the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families – Bureau of Refugee Programs and Lynden’s HOME program to celebrate World Refugee Day, and our refugee communities, through art, food, fashion, and poetry and performance, in Milwaukee’s beautiful City Hall.

Community youth leaders Biak Tha Hlawn (Chin) and Khatera Nazari (Hazara, Afghan) will serve as co-masters of ceremonies.

The day’s program includes the presentation of the City of Milwaukee Mayor’s Declaration for Milwaukee’s World Refugee Day by Bernadette Karanja, Chief Equity Officer for the City of Milwaukee and welcomes from Bojana Zorić Martinez, Director, Bureau of Refugee Programs, and Wisconsin State Refugee Coordinator, Wisconsin Department of Children and Families; Jon Ward, Board Member of the United Nations Association of Greater Milwaukee; Chris Her-Xiong, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Hmong American Peace Academy; representatives from refugee resettlement agencies; and others.

There will be readings and performances by members of local refugee communities, including South Division Multicultural Club and Ukrainian Dance Ensemble; and an art activity table will be organized by Lynden’s HOME Be the Change! 2023-2024 art and leadership cohort of young women and girls from Milwaukee’s refugee communities.

Our annual exhibition of work by local refugee children and youth will be on display in the City Hall Rotunda from June 12 through 20 and will move to Lynden for its June 22 World Refugee Day celebration. Special thanks to the Hmong American Peace Academy, the International Newcomer Center at Milwaukee Academy of Chinese Language, Clement J. Zablocki School and others.

Food trucks in attendance include Amir’s Roti (Rohingya) and Isa’s Ice Cream (Mexican).

June 20, 2024 - 7:00pm - 8:30pm

Fee: $30/$25 members
Registration: Space is limited; advance registration required. Register online or by phone at 414-446-8794.

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Join artist-in-residence Jenna Knapp and collaborator Sevan Arabajian for the annual summer solstice sound bath. The evening will begin with a sound bath underneath two beautiful trees, led by Sevan. Then, participants are invited to set intentions for this new season and join Jenna in the labyrinth for a sunset candle walk.

Sound baths are an ancient form of healing and deep meditation; they include various ambient sounds and frequencies playing in a space where you can hear and experience their vibrations moving through you. Everyone’s experience will be different; unique as you are, and according to what is needed most at the time. Your sound facilitator for the evening will be Milwaukee’s own Sevan Arabajian-Ries, musician, ritualist, spiritual guide, and relational counselor.

The sound bath lasts approximately 45-60 minutes. We recommend arriving 15 minutes ahead of time to give yourself time to set up and prepare. Please bring something to rest on and to cover yourself with (if you think you’ll want that) for the duration, and dress appropriately for the weather. The labyrinth walk takes place on a hill so please consider comfortable footwear as well. A little insect repellent may be in order, too. Candles are provided and you are invited to bring your own.

2024 Sound Bath Schedule
Thursday, May 23, 2024
Thursday, June 20, 2024
Sunday, July 21, 2024
Monday, August 19, 2024
Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Wednesday, October 2, 2024

June 22, 2024 - 11:00am - 4:00pm

HOME2023

FREE
We will be running a free shuttle bus between the Park & Ride at Brown Deer Road just west of I-43 and the sculpture garden. The ramps at the Brown Deer exit are currently closed, so consider alternate routes for getting to Lynden. The final shuttle of the day will depart Lynden at 3:30 pm.

For further information on free transportation options to Lynden, please contact us at info@lyndensculpturegarden.org or call 414-446-8794.

The HOME Refugee Steering Committee at the Lynden Sculpture Garden invites you to observe World Refugee Day in a series of outdoor events and programs that celebrate Milwaukee’s refugee communities through art, food, fashion, and performance.

Bring a picnic and a blanket to enjoy the outdoors with friends, family, and community. Or bring along cash to “taste the world”: you’ll be able to grab a snack, sample dishes, or purchase a full meal from chefs from the Afghan, Burmese, Congolese, and Rohingya refugee communities. Halal and vegan options provided. A full menu will be displayed.

World Refugee Day at Lynden, co-sponsored by the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families – Bureau of Refugee Programs, is organized as both a resource fair and a celebration of many cultures. In addition to making art, tasting food, and listening to stories, poems, and music and dance, visitors will be able to gather information on local services for refugees. Under our resource tent, you’ll find new and existing partners including refugee-serving agencies and community-based organizations.

Select HOME craft vendors include: Olive Essence Soap (Syrian, Turkish); Puffy and Fluffy (Palestinian); Rahman Ros Batik & Accessories (Rohingya); Fairouz (Syrian); Rumaneh Nourish (Palestinian); Frey Faris Crafts (Ethiopian); Mchete’s African Treasures (Tanzanian); Knyaw Craft (Karen); Nur Khalida’s Henna Booth on behalf of Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan (Rohingya); Catherine Art Studio KJ (Congolese); Royal Beauty (Jordanian); and Ashwaq Clothing (Iraq).

Participants in Lynden’s Be the Change! group will be offering face painting and an opportunity to make a World Refugee Day card to take home throughout the day.

Sponsoring agencies and participating community organizations include: Community Center for Immigrants, Hanan Refugees Relief Group, Engauge Workforce Solutions, Institute of World Affairs-UWM Center for International Education, Medical College of Wisconsin-Office of Global Health, American Red Cross Wisconsin Region, United Nations Association of Greater Milwaukee, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Milwaukee Muslim Women's Coalition, Wisconsin Muslim Civic Alliance, Wisconsin Conservative Voters, Milwaukee Consortium for Hmong Health, Inc, and more. Special thanks to staff members and organizers from Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, Rohingya Maiyafuinor Collaborative Network (RMCN), Milwaukee Public Library, International Newcomer Center of the Milwaukee Academy of Chinese Language, Jewish Social Services Madison, South Division Newcomer Center for their support and involvement.

Schedule

11-11:30 am: Interfaith prayers & blessings, with nasyid (children’s choir), presented by Habibah Ramatullah & Hasina Ahmad (Rohingya)
12 pm: Traditional mandolin performance by Ibrahim (Rohingya)
1-3 pm: Multilingual Story Time & Interactive Pond Station
1 pm: Al Muharebeen dabke dance group (Palestinian)
1:15 pm: Dance performance by Fizal (Rohingya)
1:30 pm: KBSW Dance Group (Karen)
1:30-3 pm: Multilingual Poetry Reading with Chuck Stebelton and friends (assemble at Eliza’s Cabinet)
1:45 pm: Golden Melody Music Band U.S.A. (Burmese)
2:30 pm: Spring Star Music Band (Burmese)
3:15 pm: Congo Gospel Music Band U.S.A. (Congolese)
Program and timing are subject to change.

The program will begin at 11 am with a series of interfaith prayers organized by the Rev. J.C. Mitchell of Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee and the Rev. Gwendolyn F. Sutton of the HOME Refugee Steering Committee. They will be joined by Habibah Ramatullah’s & Hasina Ahmad’s children’s choir and Rohingya uztaz Mohamad Sharif Mohamad Nizam.

Following this welcome, our event host and master of ceremonies will be Sudanese doctor and jiu-jitsu practitioner Duaa Salah.

Multilingual Story Time will move off your screens and outdoors, where Lynden’s art educator and naturalist Claudia Orjuela will lead a multilingual program and activities for children. She will be joined by a group of our dedicated readers and collaborators, including educator and artist Ceci Tejeda (Spanish), librarians Eric Johnson and Erin Sloan of Milwaukee Public Libraries, and community readers Halyna Salapata and Karina Tweedell (Ukrainian), Mala Nan Leth (Burmese), and Khojesta Faizi (Dari). Expect singing, hands-on activities, and an exploration of Story Time’s theme of migration and identity in the context of Lynden’s gardens. Also of interest to children: Evie Kumar will staff an Interactive Pond Station.

We are pleased to have Ibrahim and his group of musicians perform an hour-long traditional mandolin performance, under the banner of the Rohingya American Society.

Fizal returns this year with his upbeat, contemporary dance performance. Fizal’s peformances are popular at weddings and celebrations in the Rohingya community.

Al Muharebeen dabke dance group, presented by Hanan Refugee Relief Group will perform their celebrated Palestinian folk dances–an expression of the spirit of Arab/Palestinian culture.

KBSW Dance Group, lead by Gay Wah from the Karen Buddhist Society of Wisconsin, will perform traditional Karen dance.

Chuck Stebelton assembles a group of poets, refugees, historically displaced people, and social justice advocates for a Poetry Reading at Eliza’s Cabinet. The group will share poems together in an open, multilingual conversational setting. Participants include: Mauricio Kilwein Guevara (English, Spanish); Khatera Nazari (English, Dari); Haji Mohammad Essa Durrani (English, Dari); Alex Niemi (Russian, French, Spanish); Antonio Vargas-Nieto (English, Spanish); Mary Ronaldile (English, Congolese); and Iryna Gazizullina (English, Ukrainian).

Stay until the end as we finish the day with three of Milwaukee’s refugee music groups: Golden Melody Music Band U.S.A. (Burmese Muslim); Spring Star Music Band (Burmese); and Congo Gospel Music Band U.S.A. (Congolese).

About the Master of Ceremonies, Duaa Mohamed

Duaa Mohamed is a medical school graduate from their beloved country of Sudan, and will begin their residency at the State University of New York Downstate. Aside from medicine, they have a passion for sports, including tennis, and especially Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

About the Artists

About Habibah Ramatullah and Hasina Ahmad
The nasyid children’s choir is organized by the dynamic duo Habibah Ramatullah and Hasina Ahmad of the Rohingya community. Both have organized community gatherings, community interpreter support, and women’s led initiatives since 2022.

Hasina Ahmad has been especially involved in community organizing and women’s leadership. She is a Rohingya refugee community leader from Myanmar/Malaysia. Prior to resettling to Milwaukee, Hasina was the head and supervisor of a refugee kindergarten learning center under the Penang Stop Human Trafficking Campaign. Hasina played a pivotal role in developing strategy and approaches to case management, community health clinics, resettlement issues, and arrest and detention faced by her community. In Milwaukee, Hasina continues to lead, organize, and support community initiatives and events, including advising community advocates on refugee issues, presenting Rohingya/Burmese/Malaysian cuisine for Tables Across Borders, organizing and participating in community fashion shows and celebrations, co-coordinating Lynden's HOME event for World Refugee Week, and impacting and involving community members in the arts. Through her life's work, and inspired by the active Lynden community, Hasina's interests and involvement include batiking with textile artist Arianne King Comer and community worker/artist Kim Khaira, modelling for Rosemary Ollison's Beyond Fashion show, and building the refugee and immigrant community through HOME.

About Ibrahim
Ibrahim has been performing the traditional mandolin since a young age. Inspired by stories of his homeland, Arakan, his rhythmical melodies remind us of a place that many in the Rohingya community long for. Joined by his group of singers and musicians, he is presenting at World Refugee Day 2024 for the first time, and with support from the Rohingya American Society, the first Rohingya non-profit organization in Wisconsin.

Al Muharebeen dabke dance group
Al Muharebeen, which means “warriors” in Arabic, is a group of six male youth from Salam High School. Their members include Kais Ahmed, Kais Jaraba, Qutaiba Banifadel, Samer Banifadel, Ismail Bektesi and Yusuf Bektesi. This folk dance performance is presented by the Hanan Refugee Relief Group.

About Fizal
Within a few months of resettling to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Fizal (Rohingya) set his sights on dance and music opportunities, including World Refugee Day 2023. Originally from Myanmar, Fizal lived in Malaysia for many decades with his family and worked in various occupations, including performing at weddings and community events.

About KBSW Dance Group
KBSW Dance Group is a group of traditional Karen dancers organized by Gay Wah under the Karen Buddhist Society of Wisconsin.

About Golden Melody Music Band U.S.A.
Golden Melody Music Band U.S.A. is led by Burmese Muslim Mohammad Hasan alongside volunteer singers and managed by Burmese grassroots community worker Moe Aung. Hasan captures his audience with a nostalgic style and persona, both poised and enigmatic, and with sounds of yesteryear. He plays international music, oldies, and classic rock songs in Myanmar, English and Hindi (Bollywood). Hasan and his rotating band members perform at farmers’ markets, community fundraisers, and practically anywhere that they are called for. At the Lynden Sculpture Garden, Golden Melody has performed at HOME celebrations since 2019. In 2021, inspired by community activism and the Spring Revolution in his homeland and locally, Hasan advised and arranged music for the Spring Star Music Band consisting of musicians from the Karen, Kachin, Chin, and Burmese communities.

About Spring Star Music Band
Inspired by community activism in the wake of the Spring Revolution in Myanmar in 2021, a group of Burmese musicians and activists from the Karen, Kachin, Chin, and Burmese communities gathered to organize Spring Star Music Band. New members of the group are joined by members of the former C&K Music Band Group. They performed at HOME Music Day in 2021 and 2023 at Lynden, and will return to World Refugee Day 2024, to remind us of their sound, and love and passion for their homeland.

About Congo Gospel Music Band
Based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Congo Gospel Music Band is led and organized by drummer and frontliner Bodack Mondembe. Based at their local church, Congo Gospel Music Band also performs at street and neighborhood events, churches and weddings, and community-led events. They have performed at Beet Street, the annual Fall Harvest Festival at Cactus Club, Friends of Zion worship concert at Benediction Lutheran Church, as well as at HOME World Refugee Day celebrations at the Lynden Sculpture Garden. Their sound, described as rhythmical, upbeat and infectious, is in high demand.

About HOME

HOME is the theme of our work with refugee community leaders, community members, Call & Response artists, and allies. The HOME Refugee Steering Committee is building a space of leading, coming together, and celebrating refugees.

World Refugee Day 2024 celebrations extend into two additional HOME “days” featuring music, dance, food, fashion, and craft. For all HOME 2024 programming, click here.

HOME 2024 is sponsored in part by the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, Refugee Programs.

June 25, 2024 - 10:00am - 12:00pm

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Fee: Free.
Registration: Advance registration encouraged. Click here to register online. Work days are weather dependent.

Join the Lynden land team—Alyx Christensen, Robert Kaleta, and Esther Portnoy--for a volunteer work day on the grounds. The Lynden Sculpture Garden is transforming its natural habitats and formal landscapes into sustainable and diverse ecosystems that highlight the natural beauty inherent in them. The Lynden's goal is to steward healthy habitats for an array of native plants and wildlife while adding a vibrant mosaic of color and texture to this sculptural landscape through every season.

With over 40 acres and more than half a dozen specialized garden spaces, the Lynden provides many volunteer and learning opportunities, from removing invasive species to planting new trees and plugs, weeding, pruning, collecting, and spreading seeds. If you or someone you know has a few hours or are looking for regular, ongoing volunteer work that keeps you outside, you are welcome to join us. With a small land staff, volunteer help is essential to the evolution and restoration of the Lynden grounds.

Volunteers are encouraged to bring their favorite gardening gloves and digging tools (if you have them)! Water, snacks, and additional tools will be provided.

Schedule

April 23, 10 am-12 pm
In April, help us control invasive garlic mustard within the forested ravine. Learn about invasive species control and leave with a handful of garlic mustard and a recipe for Garlic Mustard Pesto as a thank you for your time.

May 21, 10 am-12 pm
In May, we are back in the ravine to control garlic mustard and the now-blooming dame’s rocket. As we move through the season, we will be tracking different species of plants as they pop up around the grounds. Catching these plants at the correct time will help prevent them from seeding and spreading next year. While we may not want dame’s rocket in our landscapes, the leaves are edible; some compare them to a "sweeter arugula" (also known as rocket) or spinach.

June 25, 10 am-12 pm
In June, we're on the lookout for white sweet clover in Lynden's prairies and savannas. This clover tends to outgrow ecologically significant species, shading out the sun-loving plants we are working to cultivate in these microhabitats. While sweet clover is not so desirable in the landscape, it can be cooked and eaten as a vegetable or dried and used for vanilla flavoring in sweets and tea.

July 23, 10 am-12 pm
In July, we're still on the lookout for white sweet clover in Lynden's prairies and savannas. This clover tends to outgrow ecologically significant species, shading out the sun-loving plants we are working to cultivate in these microhabitats. While sweet clover is not so desirable in the landscape, it can be cooked and eaten as a vegetable or dried and used for vanilla flavoring in sweets and tea. We will also be watching for wild oregano, particularly in and around the labyrinth. Help us remove this vigorously spreading but pleasantly pungent plant to make way for native Wisconsin prairie. While we prefer to not keep this oregano in our natural areas, it can be a good companion in the form of fresh tea or when dried and used as a spice. Wild oregano is also thought to have some properties that are beneficial to human health.

August 27, 10 am-12 pm
In 2019, artist Jenna Knapp and the Lynden land team created a five-circuit walking labyrinth, 69 feet in diameter. Thoughtfully “nestled away from Lynden’s formal lawn, this labyrinth is carved into the tall grasses of the native prairie and evolves with the seasons, peaking in the early fall when the field is bright with goldenrod." In
August, we will spend some reflective time in Lynden’s labyrinth while also encouraging the native prairie plants to fill out by removing competitors like wild oregano, Queen Anne’s lace, Shasta/oxeye daisies, turf grass, and smooth bromegrass.

September 24, 10 am-12 pm
Lynden’s back areas are not open to the public, but they are home to heritage oaks and other unique tree species, ephemeral and native herbaceous species, and many land restoration projects. In September, we will take you behind the scenes to clear paths to ensure that staff can continue to traverse these landscapes, tending to projects and plant life.

October 22, 10 am-12 pm
October is for seed collecting and dispersing in our prairie areas. We use many tools to revitalize these areas and encourage high plant diversity--controlled burns, the ever-popular goat visits—and seed collection is one more step we take to encourage these plants to spread and outgrow unfavorable plant species, leading to a high-quality, rich prairie ecosystem. Come learn about our restoration projects and take a few seeds home for your backyard garden.

November 12, 10 am-12 pm
Winter is a critical time for managing buckthorn, one of the most persistent and prolific plant species that competes against diverse plant ecosystems. Buckthorn has characteristics that allow it to outcompete other plant species; it grows and matures much faster than other plants and rapidly colonizes, leaving little time or room for the growth of anything else. In November, we will be on the eastern side of the grounds, tending the understory of our, within the understory of our paper birch island by manually removing buckthorn using the “cut-stump” method. This will clear the area and relieve competition for future native plantings.

June 25, 2024 - 10:30am - 11:30am

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2024 Spring Session (March 5-May 28): Tuesdays, 10:30 am-11:30 am
2024 Summer Session (June 4-August 27): Tuesdays, 10:30 am-11:30 am

Tuesdays in the Garden, designed for children aged 1-3, provides a nurturing environment where children’s curiosity and wonder are extended through play and exploration, and children and their caregivers learn and discover side-by-side. Join art educators Claudia Orjuela and Denice Niebuhr for hands-on art making and all-senses-engaged exploration of the outdoor world at Lynden. We’ll consider different themes, each designed to connect Lynden’s environment with children’s interests. We will encourage experimentation and the manipulation of art and natural materials to tell stories, solve problems, and develop relationships.

Fee: $16/$12 members for one adult and one child.
Registration: Group size is limited; advance registration is required. Register online now. In the event of inclement weather, sessions move indoors.

To view a list of the session themes, click here.

June 27, 2024 - 10:00am - 12:00pm

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Fee: Free.
Registration: Advance registration required. Click here to register online. Work days are weather dependent.

Join the Lynden land team—Alyx Christensen, Robert Kaleta, and Esther Portnoy--for a volunteer work day on the grounds. The Lynden Sculpture Garden is transforming its natural habitats and formal landscapes into sustainable and diverse ecosystems that highlight the natural beauty inherent in them. The Lynden's goal is to steward healthy habitats for an array of native plants and wildlife while adding a vibrant mosaic of color and texture to this sculptural landscape through every season.

With over 40 acres and more than half a dozen specialized garden spaces, the Lynden provides many volunteer and learning opportunities, from removing invasive species to planting new trees and plugs, weeding, pruning, collecting, and spreading seeds. If you or someone you know has a few hours or are looking for regular, ongoing volunteer work that keeps you outside, you are welcome to join us. With a small land staff, volunteer help is essential to the evolution and restoration of the Lynden grounds.

Volunteers are encouraged to bring their favorite gardening gloves and digging tools (if you have them)! Water, snacks, and additional tools will be provided.

Schedule

April 25, 10 am-12 pm
In April, we will assist artist-in-residence Kim Khaira with seeding and spring cleanup in her tinctorial garden (a garden of plants that can be used in natural dyeing). Work alongside Khaira and the land team to continue with the removal of any remaining invasive species, as well as spreading seed for new dye plants to grow. Khaira will introduce the native plants she has chosen for the garden, including the significance of the seeds chosen, and talk about their many uses beyond their role in natural dyes.

May 23, 10 am-12 pm
Lynden’s two forested ravines are treasures: shady oases in the summer, home to many species of tree and plant life. Unfortunately, some of the older transplants are crowding out native species. In May, we will be removing daylilies from the upper ravine and learning about how to replace this fast-spreading plant with other, pollinator-friendly options.

June 27, 10 am-12 pm
Now that the fragrant lilac bloom has ended, it's time to prune all the dried-up buds. Pruning spent lilac buds helps promote the growth of more flowers next year. Spend a couple of hours in the formal gardens with us sprucing up the lilacs and learning about blending native and non-native plants to enhance the beauty and pollinator value of the aesthetic gardens here at the Lynden.

July 25, 10 am-12 pm
Upon your arrival at the Lynden Sculpture Garden, you are greeted by a picturesque waterfall and formally landscaped hill, home to an array of unique shade-loving perennial species, evergreens, and shrubs. Waterfall Hill has undergone many changes as we work to incorporate this small ecology into the larger Lynden landscape and to create a design that serves as an introduction to the tranquillity and the excitement that unfolds across the grounds. One month into summer, we are knee-deep in peak growing season and could use your help keeping Waterfall Hill tidy.

August 29, 10 am-12 pm
On the western edge of Lynden’s formal gardens, leading up to and embracing The Bremen Town Musicians, is our annual display garden. This traditionally styled garden plays with symmetry, structure, and color using annually grown plant species—species that don’t survive the Wisconsin winter--and it changes each year. Annuals play an important role in feeding pollinating insects because they bloom throughout the growing season. This is also a garden that accentuates a sculptural focal point, making an impact on visitors. In addition to acknowledging that flowers play an important role in pollination and visual engagement, we also like to understand and encourage the many functional uses of the plant communities we engage with. As we weed, prune, and deadhead the annual garden, we will be collecting the plant detritus to create floral teas or bath soaks to take home.

September 26, 10 am-12 pm
The stone path leading up to the patio is nestled between an evolving native shade garden and a sprawling beech tree that is more than 100 years old. In September, we will be removing thistles and dandelions and sprucing up this welcoming walkway. We will also let you in on our new plans for this area. While standing under such majestic trees as the beech or the neighboring elms is always awe-inspiring, over time our steps have been compressing soil and root structures, leaving little space for them to breathe. In 2024 we plan to extend the walkway garden to encircle the beech tree. This will minimize traffic under the tree, and adding plants will help support the beech tree's roots by regulating water availability and giving the soil a chance to recover through herbaceous plant root development. Not to mention adding plant diversity for the other living species we host at the Lynden. It will be a healthier and more beautiful environment for all, and we look forward to including you in that growth next season.

October 24, 10 am-12 pm
In October, we prepare the formal gardens for winter: a final round of pulling thistles and dandelions, pruning trees and shrubs, and responding to the ways plants have evolved, spread, or struggled in their current locations. The majority of the dormant plants will stay in place throughout the season, or as long as possible. The hollow stems benefit overwintering insects, seed heads provide food for birds, the plant skeletons house garden critters, and we are able to enjoy some extra color in winter’s palette. We will also sow the annual bed with a cover crop of rye, oats, peas, and radish to reintroduce nutrients, protect the soil from harsh winter winds, and avoid compaction by encouraging root growth. Join us on what is sure to be a beautiful day in the gardens.

November 14, 10 am-12 pm
In November, we shield the soil from the harsh winter conditions by spreading fallen leaves and tucking in all the bare spots within the gardens. This leaf mulch—which we will till into the ground next spring before planting--will protect the top layers of soil, reintroduce nutrients, and boost fertility for next season’s barrage of flowers. Join us for one last garden work day as we say goodnight to the gardens until spring, jump in crisp piles of leaves, and enjoy the musty scents of autumn.


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